On 26 Sep 2005 06:33:03 -0700, "
wrote:

Laurence, since most of us are using Travelcards etc., I doubt if much
revenue will go from one company to another if, say a 49 were to take a
few 295 passengers.

Don't they clock on Travelcard users in order to claim revenue
per-passenger? Not much may be lost. But some will be.


Richard J: it is the look of smug satisfaction when seeing a queue,
with several of us hands outstretched and no attempt to slow down.

What would YOUR face, as the driver, be showing? A reluctance to
catch the eye of passengers you COULD serve but have been instructed
not to?

I have to say that some of the responses here rather suggest that some
contributors to this forum seem to think that those big red things
chugging along the road, for which we all pay through Council Tax etc.,
are there for some purpose OTHER than getting as many passengers from A
to B (whether via C or D or whatever) as efficiently as possible and
talk of extra stopping time, pirating or that they should not be
picking up "off route" is sheer humbug.

Our elected representatives have chosen to privatise the 'bus system,
with companies competing for routes and passengers. There are
advantages and disadvantages. But the big advantage was the clean
start.

'Buses were originally nationalised to end the corruption of this
system. Privatisation was introduced to end the corruption and decay
of the nationalised system :-) Eventually we'll have another
shake-up, I expect.